Indonesia’s El Niño-driven peat fires are choking the region – and releasing centuries of stored carbon
By Gareth Roberts, Associate Professor, School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton
Martin Wooster, Professor of Earth Observation Science, King's College London
Right now, people in parts of Indonesia are inhaling what may be the most polluted atmosphere on Earth. As the historically large 2026 El Niño intensifies, parts of south east Asia have been plunged into an air quality crisis of catastrophic proportions.
Smoke from fires has driven concentrations of dangerous and tiny particulate matter, known as PM2.5, to extreme levels – creating a public health emergency threatening millions of lives.
The World Health Organization (WHO) stipulates a maximum…
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Tuesday, October 27, 2026